Bloom
by Coke head
Summary: Sasha is not a normal girl. She is an evo with erratic emotions that affects her powers, and a possible new recruit for Van Kleiss' Pack. Innately shy and timid, when she meets the love of her life, will she bloom?
1. Chapter 1

Sasha was always… different. She felt that she never fit in; she never had a place to call home, or someone to love. She transferred to three foster homes over the course of her sixteen years of life. As a child, a psychiatrist diagnosed Sasha with Borderline Personality Disorder because of her unstable mood and impulsive actions. She felt labeled. Every school she went to, the teacher would warn the students of Sasha's disorder and would advise them to be accepting of her emotions. It was humiliating. Everyone avoided her, afraid to upset her, but that made it worse. Sasha wanted friends. She wanted someone she could turn to when she was having a bad day, someone who could say a couple comforting words to make her feel better, someone who could love her for who she is.

She had a crush on a boy in her class. He never talked to her like the rest of the kids, but he would glance at her every now and again. She thought he was interested in her. He was cute, one of the best-looking guys in class. He had side swept black hair and light blue eyes with a handsome face. All the girls loved him but he didn't pay attention to any of them. But he kept glancing at Sasha.

One day, after many torturous months of crushing on the boy, she finally gathered up the courage to talk to him. Sasha never talked to anybody. Everyone in the playground watched as the timid girl walked up to the outgoing guy.

"Luke…" Sasha muttered, pulling on his sleeve as he hung around his buddies by a huge oak tree. They stepped back a little, either afraid of her or to give them privacy to talk.

"Um… yeah?" he stuttered, not sure what to say.

"I-I real," her speech failed her a moment, "really l-like you,"

His eyes widened. Sasha waited anxiously for a reply of some sort. She did not know how these things work, but she kept biting her sleeve with her hands up to her face for comfort.

"That's… nice Sasha, but… I'm sorry…"

Sasha's vision blurred with tears, her heart was pounding.

"I don't like you that way. And even if I did, everyone would think I was a freak," he told her honestly.

"A… f-freak?" Sasha whispered, "Are you implying that I am a f-freak?" she said out loud.

"That's what everyone thinks, Sasha. I mean, you don't talk to anyone and you hang out by yourself. People think that's kind of weird," he told her, nervously shoving his hands in his pockets.

Sasha covered her face with her hands, afraid that he would see her cry. She was so angry that everyone thought that, even him. She was also sad that he didn't like her. The rage was boiling up inside her. She didn't know what to do with it.

Suddenly, Luke let out a yelp of surprise. Sasha peered through her fingers to look and saw a tree branch from the oak tree grabbing Luke tightly around the waist and lifting him up off the ground.

"HELP!!!" he shouted frantically, clawing at the branch. Sasha was astounded. She was happy. She wanted to see Luke get hurt after what he had said to her. The tree shook him around and then tossed him aside into the mulch of the playground. It was a thrilling sight for Sasha. Soon, the teachers came around and the students began to tell them what had happened. Sasha dashed off into the woods beyond the fence and sat down under a tree to recollect herself. Did she smile when she watched it happen? She was sure she did. Her cheeks felt stretched. Or was that the adrenaline? She nervously dug her hands into the soil and curled her toes inside her shoes. What should she do now? The teachers will know she did something. How did that tree do that?

Sasha felt something scratch her cheeks. She leaned forward and peered back to see tree branches bending low towards her. She tried to scream but she couldn't, she was so scared.

"Hush, Sasha. It is alright," someone whispered as the tree shivered. Suddenly, a figure emerged from it. As they pulled away from the tree, the brown of the bark disappeared and left behind normal colors to reveal a tall man with long black hair in dark clothes with a huge golden arm.

"Who are you?" Sasha whispered, unable to produce any sound. The man looked down at her with a calming smile and warm red eyes.

"A friend…" he reached his hand out to help her up but he stopped when he heard someone coming that way.

"Sasha!" a woman yelled for her. In an instant, the man stepped back into the tree and went as he had come. One of the teachers came and found Sasha, who was having a panic attack after what she had seen, but the teacher suspected otherwise. She helped her to the nurse's office, where they sent her home to rest. They asked her about what had happened but they couldn't get a word out of her. She was shaking badly and would sometimes burst into a crying fit. Sasha had never had a friend before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys for all the support! Here's Chapter 2!**

* * *

Sasha sat at the dinner table with her current foster mother and father, Dalton and Marie Coolidge. She hadn't touched her dinner yet, even after prayer, and there was an atmosphere of tension in the room as her parents debated to themselves how they would start this conversation.

"What exactly happened in school today, Sasha?" Dalton finally asked her.

Sasha stared down at her plate. "A man came up to me. He knew my name. He said he was a friend," she said softly.

"When did this happen? Where?" her mother dropped her fork and began to squawk.

"In the forest, behind the school," Sasha explained.

Dalton and Marie exchanged worried glances.

"Sasha, if you ever see that man again, get to your teachers right away," Marie advised her.

"Why?" Sasha asked as she looked up from her plate at her foster mother.

"I… I don't know how to explain it to you," Marie dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, although it was unnecessary. It was only a nervous gesture.

"He's not really your friend, Sasha. Don't trust him, don't go near him, whoever he is," Dalton explained to her. Sasha appeared worried. She kept quiet and moved her food around on the plate with her fork.

Dalton noticed her sad expression. "Don't get so down Sasha. Tomorrow, we are leaving to Aunt Beatrice's house," he told her with a smile.

Sasha perked up excitedly. "How long will we be staying?" she asked curiously.

"Two weeks at least," Dalton replied and chewed on his steak, "You're on Spring Break after all."

Sasha had forgotten. She may not have heard the announcements, due to her constant daydreaming to escape the monotony of class. She was nonetheless excited. Aunt Beatrice was actually Marie's aunt, making her the great aunt of foster child, Sasha. Beatrice lived on the East coast in North Carolina. She had a big estate with a huge garden in the back that eventually extended right out onto the beach. Sasha loved the garden. Every time they would visit Aunt Beatrice, she would spend all her time in the garden. She felt at peace there.

When Sasha had finished eating and excused herself to go to bed, her parents began to whisper amongst themselves. Marie's calm expression changed instantly to a worried, terrified look. Dalton could feel her tension.

"Oh, Dalton!" she whispered loudly, "Do you think she really did that to that boy? I mean, he was torn up really bad. Didn't his mother say he was cut almost to his internal organs?" her voice became high and squeaky.

"Yes but Sasha couldn't have done it. She is so small and timid. Sure, when she gets upset, she can lash out but she couldn't have done that," Dalton tried to assure her.

"He kept talking about a tree grabbing him. But trees don't move," Marie looked at him curiously.

"Evos can make them move," Dalton said outloud.

Marie's eyes widened. She leaned in to her husband. "You don't think that Sasha is an evo, do you?"

"I highly doubt it," Dalton told her, doubting himself.

Sasha slumped against the wall on the stairwell, just an earshot away from the dining room. She heard everything and she knew the truth. She was one of those freaks you hear about on TV who get mutated by the nanites in their body. That was why that man came to her. He must have been an evo too. Soon, she would probably turn into some freak and get blown up by Providence. Sasha covered her face with her fists and clenched her teeth. She didn't want that to happen. She wanted a friend, not to be blown up. She wanted that man to come back and save her from being blasted sky high.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Sasha's family set out on the road to North Carolina. They woke up extremely early to get a head start because it was a good seven-hour trip. Her parents had made her pack before she went to bed, giving her a checklist of things to put in her bag. Sasha still held it in her hand as she sat in the back seat of their black Sedan. Everything was checked off, but Sasha felt like there was something missing. She couldn't imagine what it was. It was too late to go back now, if she remembered. They were only minutes away from her aunt's estate. As they rolled up to the gates, Sasha checked herself in her hand mirror, making sure she looked decent. She patted down her honey-colored hair and fixed her green and pink barrettes in her hair. Her aunt always made a fuss over Sasha's appearance. Beatrice was a perfectionist. They coasted up the brick-paved road that circled around a large fountain before it came up to the veranda of the house and led back to the gates. They parked at the end of the steps and her mother opened the door for her as the butler came down the steps to help them with their luggage. She declined the help and carried her small pink suitcase with ease up the steps behind the butler, who was carrying her parents' luggage.

They went through the huge wooden double doors and entered the palace of marble. It was refreshingly cool inside and smelled of calming lavender. Sasha heard a clicking noise and turned to see Aunt Beatrice coming her way.

She was like a buzzard. Aunt Beatrice was old, wrinkly, with a hunched back and a craned neck. She wore bifocals at the end of her crooked nose, and had her scraggly hair pulled back in a bun. She wore a long pink dress with shoulder pads and pearls embroidered into flower shapes along the hem of the dress. Overall, Sasha loved her just the same. Aunt Beatrice had a somewhat understanding of her, often excusing her for her mishaps, because of her disorder.

"I am glad you all made it safely!" she croaked, giving Marie a hug.

"Thank you for inviting us again, Aunt Beatrice," Marie thanked her as Beatrice hugged Dalton.

"Of course!" Aunt Beatrice stopped and turned to Marie. "I love having company." She turned and smiled at Sasha. "There's my little poppy, Sasha."

"Hello, Aunt Beatrice," Sasha smiled as she hugged her aunt.

"Come, Leo shall take your luggage upstairs. We can catch up over some lunch," Beatrice told them and began to walk down the hall. Sasha handed her case to Leo, the butler and followed her parents down the hall.

They entered a small room with a door to the back porch. Sasha could see the spiraling trees in the garden as they sat down at the table. She couldn't wait to see what flowers her aunt had planted this time.

Sasha ate what was handed to her as the adults rambled on. She wondered if she would see that man again. She sort of doubted it. They were states away, and there was no way that man would have known where they were. She still wanted to see him again. When she looked into his eyes, it seemed like he understood everything about her. The way he outstretched his hand to her, he wanted to help her with all her problems.

"Sasha, I do have a scavenger hunt for you to do in the garden during your stay," Aunt Beatrice suddenly said, penetrating Sasha's veil of thoughts. She forgot that Aunt Beatrice always set up a scavenger hunt when she'd come over. She understood Sasha liked to be kept busy and knew Sasha enjoyed the garden as well. "Here's your first clue," she said as she handed Sasha a slice of cake on a plate.

Sasha stared at the cake, doubled layered vanilla with strawberry frosting and a strawberry slice on top.

"Go ahead and eat it, poppy," Beatrice urged her. Sasha looked crossly at the cake but took her fork and sliced off the first bite. It was rather tasty, and the frosting was at the perfect creamy potential. She took another bite, and another, and then she found a folded up piece of paper inside. She slipped it out and cleaned it off before opening it to read it.

_Out the door_

_To discover more._

_Keep your head in the clouds_

_And your feet on the floor._

Sasha thought about the clue as she finished the cake. She then excused herself and took the note outside. As soon as she stepped out onto the porch, she looked up into the boards of the pergola overhead. She could see the clouds through the wisteria vines that wrapped around the white painted wood. She walked along the porch, staring up at the pergola, searching the vines for anything odd. She couldn't find anything so she began to search the floor of the porch. She checked every crack in the laid bricks and began pulling potted plants away to search for another clue. Finally, she came to a statue of a cherub that seemed to be delightfully dancing in the corner. His head was in the clouds, and his feet were on the floor. This had to be it!

Sasha tried to move him, but he was so heavy. He wasn't made of plastic like the pots that held the plants, he was made of solid metal. Sasha was determined, however, and poked her head behind him to check the hiding spot and there sat a small blue box. Sasha delightedly opened it to find a four leaf clover and another slip of paper with a clue in it.

_Ten paces left,_

_There you'll find a cleft._

"What's a cleft?" Sasha whispered. She pocketed the box along with the previous clue in her gray sweater pocket and took ten paces to her left. It lead her off the porch and onto some stepping stones that stopped as they turned to her right. But Sasha had only counted five paces. She continued five more and was face to face with the fence. She looked down and saw a hole, just small enough for her to get through. Sasha got on her hands and knees and crawled through. She looked up and was looking for whatever a cleft was but instead found a pair of black boots.

"Sasha!" a man's voice exclaimed. Sasha smiled. It was him.


	4. Chapter 4

He helped her up off the ground and dusted her off with his good hand. As he did this, he kept a warm smile on his face.

"I-I've been w-anting to see you," she confessed, lowering her gaze.

"Is that so?" he cocked his head. "I've been wanting to see you too, ever since you grabbed that boy and we didn't get a chance to talk," he said to her.

Sasha flinched. So she did grab Luke. She controlled the tree somehow. She wanted to not think about it, so she changed the subject.

"I'm looking for a cleft," Sasha told him.

"Why, you just crawled through one," he laughed.

Sasha looked back at the hole. "Oh," she muttered.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Forgive me, I am Van Kleiss," he introduced himself and took her hand, the one that had the slip of paper in it. Sasha held her breath, as she thought he was going to kiss it like in movies. He smiled at her as the paper slipped from her fingers like soap through one's hands. Van Kleiss took it, her hand easily slipping through his. Sasha's heart began to pump faster as he opened it and read it. She felt hot because of his touch.

"So you're on a scavenger hunt?" he mused and put the paper back in her hand, closing it into a fist. "Would you be interested in this?" he asked her, pulling out a paper from his coat pocket.

"Y-yes," Sasha stuttered and he handed it to her. She opened it and read it.

_Once through the fence,_

_You happen upon the dense._

The dense? What was that, Sasha wondered. Van Kleiss saw her confused expression and carefully took the paper from her to read it.

"Well, "the dense" must refer to the dense brush on this side of the fence," he told her.

"Oh," Sasha gazed around. There was indeed a lot of bushes around, such as wild honeysuckle and thorn bushes. Something shiny flashed in the sunlight as it sat under the bushes. Sasha rushed over to it and picked it up. It was a paper crane, made of silver metallic looking paper. On its right wing was her aunt's handwriting in bright red ink.

"_Fons_"

She felt Van Kleiss hovering over her and she was about to show him the word when she heard her aunt calling her name.

"I guess I should go," she sighed.

"Cheer up, I will see you again soon," Van Kleiss smiled. Sasha perked up.

"Sasha! My little poppy!" her aunt called again and Sasha hurried for the hole in the fence. Her aunt watched her from the end of the porch as she crawled her way through, with the crane held delicately in her hand.

"Ah, so you found the second clue!" her aunt exclaimed. Sasha ran up to her and held the crane up proudly.

"Oh, and the four leaf clover!" Sasha added as she pulled the box out of her pocket with a free hand. She flipped it open and held it up with the crane.

Aunt Beatrice looked down at them speculatively through her bifocals. "Come, darling. I will give you a box to keep your treasures in. I also have another surprise for you," she told her before turning and walking towards the door. Sasha followed.

In her aunt's room, there were whimsy drapes all around, as if the room was a theatre and they were the people on the stage. Her aunt's room was filled with dark brown furniture and white or cream drapes.

"Here Sasha," her aunt said, handing her a long wooden box of lighter colored wood than the furniture. It was about a foot long, and several inches deep and wide. The top was hollowed out in parts, carved to make curling flowers of wood. Red silk could be seen through the holes and when Sasha opened it, she saw that red silk lined the whole box and a key and lock sat inside it. Sasha was tickled to be given such a luxury.

"Thank you Aunt Beatrice," Sasha smiled gratefully. Her aunt wagged her finger at her.

"That's not all," she grinned, showing her false teeth. Only Sasha knew they were false, Aunt Beatrice tries to keep it a secret.

She handed Sasha a small leather bound book. Sasha peeked inside it to find it was a dictionary of somesort.

"You're such a curious girl," Beatrice said, patting Sasha's head.

Later that night, Sasha was laid out on her bed, peering through the dictionary. The title page inside claimed it was a Latin – English dictionary. Latin was interesting. The words were similar to English words, which surprised Sasha. She reached over and gazed at her wooden box again for the fifth time since she sat down with it. She unlocked it and gazed inside at her crane and the blue box with her luck inside it. Safe and comfortable, she thought. She turned her attention back to the dictionary, flipping over pages, reading interesting words, and reading some aloud to test her pronunciation. She turned to a page and saw a familiar word.

**fons, fontis **_m_ – spring; fountain

"The fountain! Of course! But which one?" Sasha said to herself. She knew her aunt had at least three large ones, and several small ones. There was the one in the front, two in the back garden, and several scattered about around the house. She knew she would have to wait until tomorrow to look. Just another thing to look forward to, she thought as she curled up into her blankets, laying her treasures on her night table, such as meeting Van Kleiss again.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasha was greeted the next morning by the rest of her foster family as she came downstairs. She wasn't necessarily greeted, more like confronted. No one told her that the rest of her aunts and uncles, cousins and others would be coming to visit as well. Sasha stood dumbfounded in her pink pajamas as she saw the many people move about in the kitchen like ants to a crumb. She didn't even know these people, never met them in her life. It felt awkward.

To escape from it all, Sasha got dressed and headed outside to look in the first fountain for a clue or treasure. After searching every inch over twice, she continued to the back and began investigating the fountains there. Sasha was too busy looking in the water and climbing the statues to notice a group of boys gathering on the porch to watch her.

They were just as old as she was, and all three were brunettes. One had his hair shaggy, while the other two had closely shaved hair. They were rather goofing off and talking about needless things.

"That weird girl out there climbing that fountain, is she Sasha?" one boy asked.

"Yeah, probably."

"Hey Sasha!" the third shouted. She stopped and turned to look but when she saw the possible threat, she turned back to her search.

"Doesn't want to talk to us," the shaggy boy said.

"She's probably a mute," another suggested. Unanimously, they all walked up behind Sasha and watched.

"Found it!" Sasha exclaimed when she saw something shiny in the water at the very top level where a cherub poured his vase's contents into a flower. She fished out the silver dollar and held it up to see the reflection of the sun. It was so pretty!

"What do you got there? Can we see it?" a boy asked.

"No," Sasha muttered, climbing down the fountain.

"Come on! We're family. You have to share," he told her, reaching to grab it. She pulled back and hid it behind her. They closed in on her and her legs were backed up against the fountain. She had nowhere to go. Two grabbed her arms and the other tried to get the silver dollar.

"No! Stop it!" Sasha yelled, trying to kick them. It only seemed to make it worse. As she kicked, her grip on the silver dollar lessened and the boy took it from her. Then, in a quick instant, they pushed her into the water, before running towards the house. Sasha was so angry. She was close to tears because she was humiliated and that they took her treasure. She wanted to tie them down and push them in the water like they did to her. She wanted to scratch them up like what she did to Luke. Sasha sat up and gazed intensely at them, wishing those hateful things and sure enough, the trees began to move. Roots shot up from the ground and grabbed the boys around the ankles, causing the one to drop her silver dollar. The roots dragged them back down the sidewalk towards the fountain and Sasha got up out of it. She walked over them and picked up her silver dollar, pocketing it in her sweater before turning around to see the boys being lifted up and dunked into the water, again, and again. She laughed, hearing their bubbling when they were dunked, and their screams when they were lifted out. The trees gave them a good shake and tossed them to the ground. Sasha stepped aside as they ran past her to go tell someone. Sasha didn't care. If it meant people would stop picking on her, then so be it.

There was the sound of someone clapping behind her and she turned to find Van Kleiss applauding her with a warm smile.

"Very nice, Sasha. It was rather comical," he chuckled and came up to her.

"What did I do? Did I really do it? How?" Sasha unfurled the questions. Van Kleiss was taken back by this.

"Yes, it was all you, Sasha. You're an EVO, one blessed with an ability available to you through the nanites in your body," he explained.

Sasha was suddenly saddened. "So I am an EVO… What if I mutate like the ones on the news? What will happen to me?"

"Those unfortunate souls were annihilated by the wicked Providence. But you Sasha, you have potential. I can prevent that from happening. There is a haven for people like us," he laid his normal hand upon her shoulder. "You can leave this place of mockery and be somewhere where you can be loved and cherished like you have always deserved," he smiled, bending over so his face was right in front of hers. Sasha's heart was pounding.

"But I love my aunt and my parents," she whimpered.

"After what you did to those boys, I don't think they'll be happy with you anymore," Van Kleiss told her.

"SASHA!" a woman's voice screamed from inside the house. Sasha cringed. She had never been yelled at like that before. Van Kleiss stepped back away from her.

"Think about it," he told her before turning around and walking away. Sasha opened her mouth to say goodbye, but another yell pierced the atmosphere.

"SASHA! COME HERE NOW!"

Sasha shook as she ran into the house. She found the commotion in the hall where the three boys stood, sopping wet with towels wrapped around them, and several angry adults circling them. Aunt Beatrice stood a way off with a neutral look on her face.

A huge, bulbous lady turned at the sound of Sasha's arrival. "Little girl, you have some explaining to do!" she yelled, red in the face. By the sound of her voice, she was the one who had been screaming.

"Let me talk to her, Beth," Aunt Beatrice said calmly and started up the stairs, waving for Sasha to follow. As she followed behind her aunt, Beth's eyes were burning through her. Sasha couldn't stand it. That lady set her on edge.

Aunt Beatrice led Sasha into her lovely bedroom with the calming curtains and dark wood furniture. Beatrice sat down at her vanity and Sasha stood in front of her.

"Sasha, tell me what had happened. Include as many details as you can," her aunt told her. Sasha swallowed hard.

"I was exploring the fountain and found the silver dollar you hid. The boys came up and wanted to see it, but I told them no. I didn't trust them. I don't trust anyone except you and my parents, Aunt Beatrice. Everyone picks on me, and well, recently I've had enough of it. Those boys pushed me into the water and stole my silver dollar and I got so angry!"

Sasha squatted down and covered her head to try to calm down. "I wanted the same thing to happen to them as it did to that boy at school. I thought hard about it and suddenly, the trees took the boys away and began to dip them in the fountain. I got my silver dollar back and let them go," she mumbled into her knees. She then looked up with a pleading look. "Please don't stop loving me, Aunt Beatrice! You're so nice to me! Van Kleiss warned me that my family would stop loving me because I'm an EVO."

Suddenly, Beatrice's face was twisted into surprise. "An EVO! You're an EVO?"

Sasha's heart pounded against her chest, wanting to burst out and land on the floor, anywhere away from Beatrice's expression. It was like telling her that she had murdered two million people.

Her expression changed into worry as she got up and walked to the door. "Go to your room. I must talk to your parents," she said sternly. Sasha had never heard her Aunt Beatrice speak that way so she hurried out the door. As soon as she reached her room, she locked the door and jumped into her covers, smothering herself in her pillows. She hoped things would be alright, but she knew they weren't.


	6. Chapter 6

Sasha had been born into a very unfortunate family. According to her records, her mother had her at sixteen years of age and her father was nowhere to be found. Therefore, there was no money coming in to support her and she was given up to the adoption agency. At two years of age, her first foster family took her in. Sasha did not stay with them long to even commit them to memory. They were said to be a middle-aged sterile couple who wanted a child to see how it felt to be parents. By some miracle, the woman was suddenly pregnant and they gave Sasha up.

Her second foster family was on a farm house with many other adopted children. She was free to do as she wished and no one ever told her no. She didn't even go to school because she had never heard of such a thing. She was there for seven years until eventually Child Protective Services took her away for being in an improper environment and not being in school. Sasha later learned the term to properly describe the family, which was "redneck."

Her third family, and present family was the Coolidges. They too, like her earlier family, were sterile and wanted a child. They've committed to Sasha more, compared to her previous families. Because of all the moving about and different families, she began to get rather emotional upon arrival in the Coolidge household so they sought out psychological help and books to prepare them for what was to come. They knew of Sasha's personality disorder and coped with it the best they could, but no one could interest Sasha more than Aunt Beatrice and her puzzles.

Now that was all going to go away and she would be sent to another foster family, Providence. They would probably put her in an assimilation chamber and finish her off before she mutated. Or they would perform horrible experiments on her to harness her power. Sasha squeezed her pillow and wished for it all to go away. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door and she rushed to unlock it and open it. There stood her parents.

"Sweetie, we need to talk," Marie said calmly. Sasha sat down at the end of her bed and her parents pulled up some seats.

"We know you're an evo. The signs are all true. It's only a matter of time before you turn out like the others –" Marie cut off, unable to say anymore.

"We talked to an agent at Providence," her father started and Sasha's eyes flashed, "They said they can keep you from mutating."

"They won't keep me from mutating! They'll kill me before I can! Van Kleiss told me so!" Sasha snapped.

"Who's Van Kleiss?" her father asked her.

"The man I met at the playground. He followed us here," Sasha blurted out. Her parents were rather surprised and afraid.

"You shouldn't trust that man! Providence can help you," her mother urged.

"Sasha, they are really nice people and they take in kids like you all the time," Dalton assured her. "A chaperone is coming tonight to take a look and if you are indeed an evo, they'll be taking you back to headquarters. You'll get a room of your own, great food, exercise, everything a girl needs," he smiled. Sasha stood up abruptly.

"I'm tired of being passed around like a hat! I've been through three foster families! I do not want to go anywhere else where I won't be loved! And don't tell me you love me because you don't, you're passing me on to someone else," Sasha said angrily.

"They said once you're cured you can come back and live with us!" Marie began to cry.

"I won't be alive to come back to you!" Sasha yelled and ran out the door. She didn't want to argue anymore. She didn't want to be there when the chaperone came. She didn't want to be taken somewhere else, to befriend someone else, only to go somewhere else again. She wanted to find Van Kleiss.

She ran out the back door and through the garden. Tears filled her eyes as she ran. She just wanted to run now. Run from everything. She reached the end of the garden and down the slope to the beach. Her pace slowed as she jogged through the sand. She saw a cliff to her right. It was a lonely, remote cliff, an excellent place to stop and think. She climbed up the hill to the top of the cliff and sat down by the edge.

Sasha whimpered while she wiped her face with her sleeves, trying to dry the tears. Van Kleiss was the last person she could depend on. If he didn't show her a world of love, then there was no other world for her. She wanted a real family that would struggle with her problems so that they could keep her. She wanted a real family that understood her.

"Van Kleiss, where are you?" she muttered looking around with tearfilled eyes. All of a sudden, a red portal opened up before her at the very edge of the cliff. Sasha was astonished as she stared at its swirling mass. She was suddenly pushed in by something behind her and she fell through, landing on hard, dry ground.

Sasha sat up and rubbed her eyes to get the dirt out. Did she fall off the cliff? She looked around and saw that everything was in shades of browns and reds. It was quite depressing. The trees were bare and dead looking, and the sky was blood red. Sasha could feel the humidity in the air, as if a storm was coming. There was no sun. This seemed like an angry world, wherever she was. In front of her, the trees began to arch and twist, parting down the middle to make a path for a figure in the distance. As it came closer, the outline became more clear and Sasha recognized it to be Van Kleiss. A smile spread across her face as he came closer. She couldn't have been more happy to see him. He came into the clearing and returned the smile. Little red poppies grew under his feet where he walked and vines wrapped around the trees as he passed, producing beautiful purple blooms.

"Welcome to my kingdom, Sasha," he welcomed her as he walked up to help her up.

"This place is your's?" she asked as she took his hand and stood up.

"Yes. It's the Kingdom of Abysus, a haven for EVOs," he told her.

"Do you make those flowers?" Sasha pointed at the poppies under their feet.

Van Kleiss smiled, "Yes. It's quite simple really. Why don't you try?"

Sasha let go of his hand and grabbed her sleeves nervously. "Okay," she muttered and concentrated on the ground. She thought of pretty flowers as she closed her eyes. She thought of buttercups, with their bright yellow color and simple shapes. She opened her eyes and saw withered flowers at her feet beside the poppies. She was very sad.

"Don't worry. It takes time," he reassured her. "Come, I will show you your new home," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. Sasha's heart skipped a beat.

"My new home?" she repeated and looked into the distance beyond the trees to see a towering stone citadel. A wave of excitement and relief swept over her. Finally, she had somewhere to call home!


End file.
